Amir Khan fell short in the final fight of his career, losing out to Kell Brook in their long-awaited grudge match. Now, Khan has revealed the reason why he believes he came off second best.
Brook called for a showdown with Khan throughout his professional career, but the Bolton fan-favourite always seemed to have his eyes on the bigger names in the sport, despite Brook’s IBF welterweight world title win.
After years of back and forth, the pair finally agreed to a clash in 2022, with both men entering the ring off the back of inactivity but doing so in front of a raucous Manchester crowd.
There, it was a perfect night for Brook, who dominated the contest, battering Khan from pillar to post before the referee brought the fight to a close in the sixth round and awarded ‘Special K’ with the victory that he so craved.
Speaking to Clubhouse Boxing, Khan reflected on the scrap, admitting that he didn’t want to be there and that he knew that he was past his sell-by date beforehand.
“I, in my head, didn’t really want it. It was more that the British fans wanted it more than anything. I thought, if I leave the sport by not taking that fight, I know I am going to be hated.
“I trained so hard for the fight, and I thought I was gonna do a job on him and beat him but deep down I thought my legs were not the same, the speed was not really there, the power was there, I just didn’t want to be there. More than anything, mentally, I wasn’t there.
“I recognised it in the changing rooms. I remember looking up at the clock and thinking, in an hour I will be leaving for a press conference. I wanted it to be over.”
Both men hung up the gloves shortly afterwards, although Kell Brook is set to return to action next month, stepping in for the late Ricky Hatton in a contest against Eisa Al Dah in Dubai.
